Just completed the water pump/timing belt exercise and got the engine running again only to find other "Strange things"

The engine starts and idles at 2000 RPM until warm. Then slows to 800. ???

The engine and all warning lights (except the central warning light which is always on) normal until engine at operating temp at which time the volt meter drops to under 12V and the "ENGINE OIL" light comes on. The oil pressure stays at 5 bar, even when the engine is not running and the ignition is off. There is plenty of oil in the sump.

All turn signals and emergency flashers go on and off at about double the normal speed.

Sometimes the clutch pedal stays fully depressed and the clutch itself is fully disengaged.

Any suggestions as to causes greatly appreciated.


P.S. I have had this car for about two months and have yet to drive it more that 50 ft into the garage!!!

 

We will all be happy to help with advise and comments BUT we need to know the year and transmission to start. Do you have a set of manuals?

Jim Mayzurk
93 GTS

 

Damn. First you have lots of electrical isues. Second you likely have a vacuum leak or stuck idle regulator. Third none of this likely has a thing to do with your tbelt job except maybe if the wiring harness was twisted during the process and is shorting.

 

The car is a '79 five speed. Yes, I have the manuals. Just hoping that someone could save me a little time by suggesting where to look initially.

 

Pull out and clean (with Scotchbrite, a pencil eraser or wire wool) - or better still replace - every fuse blade in the board in the passenger well. Sounds silly but fixed all the dash / guage glitches on my car - along with a number of other electrical issues. And many owners have found the same. Last but not least check out Wally Plumley's advice on annual mainatenance for ground straps etc - I think there is a link in the section for new visitors.
Good luck

 

I'd guess wiring harness, but it could be contacts somewhere. When I did my TB/WP I killed the oil pressure sender wires.

In addition to cleaning the fuse panel, clean the 14-pin connector near the jump start post and inspect the wires. My 14-pin looks great and so do the wires, but some contact cleaner took my guages from not working to intermittant and not starting without help to usually starting without help. I haven't gotten around to cleaning the fuse panel yet.

 

I have the same idle issue. Waiting to hear suggestions on it.

 

Your idle problem sounds like the heater in the auxillary air valve is shorted. This would normally heat the valve and drop the idle in a few minutes. Make sure you are getting 12 volts to the plug when the engine is running. Rebuilts can be ordered from the big three.

Your oil pressure bug is probable due to a bad sender, but I would first check the wires at the sender to make sure they aren't shorted or reversed.

Dennis

 

I would take a good look at the wire harness. If it is original, the wire insulation inside the loom could be hard and cracked - resulting in some shorting.

 

Thank you all for your suggestions. I will post the solution when fixed.

 

I have cleaned the 14 pin connector, checked the resistance on the aux air valve (17.8 ohms, 40 to 75 is spec ???) replaced the waterhose to the aux valve, and cleaned the electrical plug to the aux air valve. Nothing has changed. Initial idle still high, alternator voltage still drops below 12 V when engine warm and oil pressure goes to 5 bar as soon as ignition is switched on. Fuse box cleaning is next.

 

Your oil pressure sender wire is broken or shorted somewhere. Mine does the same thing and is completely broken off. The engine oil light is probably due to the oil level sender wiring shorting out. Pressure sender is next to the oil filter. Level sender is on top of the oil pan.

This is a guess: Your alternator or voltage regulator could be bad causing you to not get 12V or more at lower RPMs. If the oil level sender is shorting out to something that gets constant 12V, it could think oil is fine until revs drop and the voltage drops. The car thinks the lower level sender voltage is less oil.

 

AJK,

The out of spec reading on the AAV could be the result of the heating element shorting and both ends contacting the bimetal plate. You can confirm this by checking each connector for a circuit to ground. If either shows a circuit, the AAV heater is bad. A final test is to remove the in and out hoses, apply 12 volts and using a mirror check to see if the internal gate closes in very little time. Bear in mind the bimetal plate works on ambient temps which are hurried up by the heater, so the gate should be nearly closed at 80F and should be completely closed by 100F.

Are you measuring voltage at the battery or by using the instrument panel gauge? Due to the number of connections between the alternator and the gauge (7 of em) there is often a large voltage loss due to corrosion. If you are getting low voltage at the battery, check your connections at the starter before condeming the alternator.

The oil pressure gauge jumping to 5 bar with the ignition on, is a sign that the sender is bad, you have reversed the warning light and gauge connections, or there is a short to ground on the gauge wire. You can use your ohm meter to check the wire at the sender for a circuit to ground. If that is OK (no circuit) then double check the wires at the sending unit. The gauge wire should be blue and yellow and the warning light wire should be blue and green. If those are correct and reversing doesn't work, your sender is bad.

Dennis

 

Thank you Matt and Dennis.

I will get to the oil pressure and alternator tomorrow.

Today I cleaned all the fuses, all the fuse board connectors and some of the relays. The central warning lights that previously stayed on all the time now go out! Progress!! I used a contact cleaner from Radio Shack that has a little brush attached. Surprisingly, none of the fuses or connectors looked bad.

 

AJK,

It doesn't take a lot of corrosion to affect the circuit considering the type of fuses we have. The contact patch is literally a small circle on each end of the fuse. It helps to get the brass/copper element type fuses rather than the tin type as there is less corrosion due to dissimilar metals.

Dennis